Edit

Share via

UI Automation Support for the Hyperlink Control Type

  • Article

Note

This documentation is intended for .NET Framework developers who want to use the managed UI Automation classes defined in the System.Windows.Automation namespace. For the latest information about UI Automation, see Windows Automation API: UI Automation.

This topic provides information about UI Automation support for the Hyperlink control type. In UI Automation, a control type is a set of conditions that a control must meet in order to use the ControlTypeProperty property. The conditions include specific guidelines for UI Automation tree structure, UI Automation property values and control patterns.

Hyperlink controls enable a user to navigate within a page, from one page to another page, and open windows.

The following sections define the required UI Automation tree structure, properties, control patterns, and events for the Hyperlink control type. The UI Automation requirements apply to all hyperlink controls, whether Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Win32, or Windows Forms.

Required UI Automation Tree Structure

The following table depicts the control view and the content view of the UI Automation tree that pertains to hyperlinks controls and describes what can be contained in each view. For more information about the UI Automation tree, see UI Automation Tree Overview.

Control View Content View
Hyperlink Hyperlink

Required UI Automation Properties

The following table lists the UI Automation properties whose value or definition is especially relevant to the Hyperlink control type. For more information on UI Automation properties, see UI Automation Properties for Clients.

UI Automation Property Value Notes
AutomationIdProperty See notes. The value of this property needs to be unique across all controls in an application.
BoundingRectangleProperty See notes. The outermost rectangle that contains the whole control.
ClickablePointProperty See notes. Supported if there is a bounding rectangle. If not every point within the bounding rectangle is clickable, and you perform specialized hit testing, then override and provide a clickable point.
IsKeyboardFocusableProperty See notes. If the control can receive keyboard focus, it must support this property.
NameProperty See notes. The hyperlink control’s name is the text that is displayed on the screen as underlined.
ClickablePointProperty See notes. The hyperlink control’s clickable point must be a point that launches the hyperlink if clicked with a mouse pointer.
LabeledByProperty See notes. If there is a static text label then this property must expose a reference to that control.
ControlTypeProperty Hyperlink This value is the same for all UI frameworks.
LocalizedControlTypeProperty "hyperlink" Localized string corresponding to the Hyperlink control type.
IsContentElementProperty True The hyperlink control is always included in the content view of the UI Automation tree.
IsControlElementProperty True The hyperlink control is always included in the control view of the UI Automation tree.

Required UI Automation Control Patterns and Properties

The following table lists the UI Automation control patterns required to be supported by all hyperlink controls. For more information on control patterns, see UI Automation Control Patterns Overview.

Control Pattern/Pattern Property Support/Value Notes
IInvokeProvider Yes All hyperlink controls must support the Invoke pattern.
IValueProvider Depends Hyperlink controls should support the Value control pattern when the link contains information that is usable and meaningful to the user.
Value For example, "https://www...." A URL for an Internet or Intranet address is an example of a hyperlink that contains information that is meaningful to the user. A programmatic link, however, is meaningful only to an application and is not recommended for the Value property.

Required UI Automation Events

The following table lists the UI Automation events required to be supported by all hyperlink controls. For more information on events, see UI Automation Events Overview.

UI Automation Event Support Notes
InvokedEvent Required None
BoundingRectangleProperty property-changed event. Required None
IsOffscreenProperty property-changed event. Required None
IsEnabledProperty property-changed event. Required None
AutomationFocusChangedEvent Required None
StructureChangedEvent Required None

See also